Structural assembly for a three-plate circuit or the like which includes at least one diode or other electronic component

ABSTRACT

A structure for a three-plate circuit which includes a diode which must be connected to ground by a capacitor, the latter being formed of two capacities each constituted by the metallization of a supporting plate, a small plate made of Mylar and a metal plate. Application to structure in which the diodes are easily removable.

United States Patent Manuali et al. Mar. 7, 1972 [54] STRUCTURAL ASSEMBLY FOR A [56] References Cited THREE-PLATE CIRCUIT OR THE LIKE wnicn INCLUDES AT LEAST ONE STATES PATENTS DIODE OR OTHER ELECTRONIC 3,218,584 1151965 Ayer ..317/10l CP 3,337,820 8 1967 Harper. COMPONENT 3,417,294 12/1968 Steidlitz.. [72] inventors: Bertrand Claude Marcel Jean Manuali, 3,573,666 4/1971 Caffrey ..333/84 M Villiers-sur-Orge; Robert Doullet, Paris; Denis Jacques Laedlein, Villennes-sur- Primary Examiner-David Smith, Jr. Seine, all of France Attorney-Brufsky, Staas, Breiner and Halsey [73] Assignee: Centre National DEtudes Spatiales, Paris, [57] ABSTRACT France A structure for a three-plate circuit which includes a diode [22] 1970 which must be connected to ground by a capacitor, the latter [2]] Appl. No.: 102,291 being formed of two capacities each constituted by the metallization of a supporting plate, a small plate made of Mylar and ametal plate. [30] Foreign Application Priority Data I Application to structure in which the diodes are easily Jan 15, 1970 France ..700l438 remvab|e [52] US. Cl. ..3l7/l0l CP, 333/84, 333/7 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures [51] lnt.Cl. H051: l/04 [58] FieldofSearch ..3l7/l01 CM, 101 CP; 333/84 M 7 M- Patented March 7, 1972 ELZE STRUCTURAbASSEMBL-Y FOR A THREE-PLATE .crrtcUr'rort' THE LIKE 'WlllCHlNCLUDES-AT: LEAST ONE DIODEIOROTHER ELEGTRONIC .(ZOMPONENT The invention relates-generally tothezfi'eld ofssemiconductor devices andmore particularly toa structuralrassembly for a three-plate circuit orzthe. like-which includes atleast one diode or other semiconductor or. electronic;componenteone electrode of which is to beiconnected to earth-through.acapacitor.

For. example, the subject;beingdealttwithtmay. be a: circuit which-includes PlN'diodesrthese diodes are'then'mounted. on

-. an assembly acalled a1 fthree-plate:'.circuit,:..-thus named because,between-two-supporting .platessconsisting of'insulat- -ingmaterial (one-possibly of'glass; thetother. of the rnaterial known by the trade mark Teflon,:and both ofthem metallized on one surface toformaplane constituting the earth); there is inserted.athirdlayer-(the conductingcircuit).

Theusualistructure fonassemblingpurposes:meets.withtwo types of 'difiicultyz' on. theeoner.hand,wwhen-theidiodessuffer a breakdown .andrequire to be: changed,-: thflJuOPCl'fltlOflS of dismantling and or reassembly. take-some considerabledime and are costly;--on the, other .hand, tthe'wbias to be applied separately toteachdiode demandsinsulating means for'supply of thezbiasing-voltage.

The inventionnaimsat'obviatingsthese difficulties in an ingenious umanner by.lappropriate :assembling of the "various component parts.

In: accordance withathe -invention,: thelsaidaassembly. comprises at least twoLplates. of somewinsulating.:rnaterial, at-least one of which carries the circuit- -and:.receives-the. said diode or other electronic component-, sandeach ofw which supports a metallized orrmetal-plane connected to. arfirst' -point,. each of .the-said.planesforming-the foil unit of a-capacity the dielectric of :which is made up of an::insulating:sheetapplied to thesaid planeand the: other foil unit of:which,=adhering to theinsulatving-layer, is 'connectedto asecond point; the combination of thesetwo capacities-constituting the :abovei-mentionedcapacitor, which isadapted to connect' the electrode of the diode or othercomponent to-the said-firstapoint.

This arrangementmakes it possible toravoid having to insulate the conductor feeding in:the biasing.voltage;furthermore,

if-there is in addition provided awasher or otherappropriately configured unit .which'fits into a suitableaperture in one of the said plates then dismantling; changing. of the diode and=reassemblyare all facilitated.

nThe -invention will-beifurther described -withreference' to a preferredexample' illustrated in theaccompanying drawing; in which:

=ing=regardtothe reference numerals:

l-a clamping-screw (there are four ofthese, onlyone beingshown here); .2a plate made of: cast aluminum, with holes for the passage of the above-mentioned screws; 3-a sheet of Mylar (trade mark) metallized on its lower -'surface and provided in the center with a rectangular aperture, as well as nonmetallized areas on its lower surface around the holes corresponding to thosein plate 2; .-l2-a Teflon (trade mark)'plate carrying-metallization on 1 its upper surface, and a printed circuit (see reference nu- --meral 12a) on its lower surface; on the upper-surface "areas'free of metallization are provided around the holes through which the screws pass; Y; 4-a switching diode, for example a PIN diode in a rectangularpot; 5--centering pins (one is shown here) which ensure the cor- :v-rect positioning of the diode bypassing through cor- --;responding'holes (not shownhere 6awasher 'made of Teflon and provided with a central rectangularraperture making possible the proper setting in place ofthe'diode 4'(th'e: further central:apertures, 1 rectangular in shape, of, the. other components 3, l2, 7 also make'this setting possible);

-13;-a plate made of Teflommetallized across its lower part,

with areas free of metallization around'the holes through which screws pass;

7-a plate made of Mylar,- metallized across theupper part except for rectangular areas around-the holes through which the. screws pass,-'the platebeing provided with a rectangular central hole;

' 8a platemade of foil (beryllium-bronze 9a rivet; l

" l0-.a spring in the form ofasleaf bent over at either end,

provided with a lateral slot and pierced by an axial hole;

- 1la case forspring l0,--'the case being of cast aluminum and including at its-base a recessed area require to accommodatethe spring, a-groove on one side to allow the passing of awire, four tapped holes corresponding to the thread of" screws 1, and a central aperture to receive rivet 9.with a force fit.

when referring in FIG. 2, the diagram showing the principle of assembling a PIN diode should also be borne in mind. Diode 20 is connected at one end to a line 21 and at the other end on uthe one hand to a biasing source 22,-and on the other hand by way of a capacitor-23 to earth. I

'This being the position, it is necessary to understand that in theconstruction of the three-plate circuit (FIG. 1) there exist two earthing planes,- namely the upper surface of plate 12 and shown here; It is to these earths that the capacitor 23 is connectedwhichcapacitor is in-reality made up, in the present ;case,.of two capacities,namely on the one hand the capacity constituted by'the component parts 2, 3, l2-having for the dielectric the Mylar material of sheet 3, and on the other hand ..the capacity made up of the component parts*l3, 7, Shaving for the dielectric the Mylar material of plate 7. Under these conditions the second foil of capacitor 23, namely the foil not earthed but connected tothe biasing means, is constituted by the plates 2 and 8', the latter being in electrical contact with ll,.these plates being assembled both mechanically and electr'ically together by the screw 1, naturally always on condition that unmetallized areas are provided around the two earthing planes so as to'avoid any contact with the earth. It is thus unnecessary to insulate,-from the said components 2 and ll, the

: input connection from the biasing means.

a In another connection, the line output from diode 4 is dealt with directly on the printedcircuit.

It should now be understood that on the so-called three- 1 plate circuit, constituted by the-association of a Teflon plate l3'metallized its lower surface and ofa Teflon plate 12 metal- .lized on its .upper surface and carrying on its lower surface the printed circuit, there is mounted an entire series of similar diodes (not shownhere) which are connected up to the same printed circuit.

.Such a-structure makes it possible, for example, to bring into being phase shifters, switching mechanisms, limiters, etc.,

'PlN diodes being employed.

The advantage of the assembly technique according to the invention then emerges clearly. On the one hand, when a diode suffers a breakdown, it is not necessary to dismantle the :entirety of the three-plate circuit in orderto replace the diode,

because it. is-sufficient slightly to undo (for the diode under consideration) the screw 1, so as to detach the parts ll, 10, 9,

8, 7, and to reach the washer 6, which is of a greater diameter in its turn and to lift out the defective diode. In this way the time taken and the cost of maintaining and servicing electrical circuits as carried out in this manner are greatly reduced.

Nevertheless, the washer 6 ensures the continuity of the dielectric.

On the other hand, with the diode biased by way of its case with attachment means 11 and of the capacitance-type decoupling system described, it is possible to control the various diodes of a single electrical circuit independently.

It will be apparent that modifications may be made in the embodiment just described, more especially by replacing the parts with equivalent technical means, without however thereby going beyond the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Means of assembling a PIN diode or other semiconductor or electronic component one electrode of which, receiving a biasing voltage, is to be connected to a reference potential by a capacitor, said means including: at least two plates made of insulating material and having an excision to accommodate the diode, a metallized circuit on at least one of the internal surfaces of the said plates, a layer of metal on each of the outer faces of the two plates, the said layers of metal being intended for connection to the reference potential, an insulating sheet applied on each of the metallized planes, this being of limited surface area and of a form adapted to enclose each of the diodes, metal covers covering the insulating sheets and the diode on either side of the combination of the two above-mentioned plates, made of insulating material, along with the metallized circuit, connection means to link the two covers electrically while exerting a clamping effect on the combina-' tion of plates and sheets, and to bring up the covers to the reference potential, the combination of the two capacities, each formed of an insulating sheet, being included between a layer of metal and a so-called cover which constituted the above-mentioned capacitor.

2. Means of assembling a PIN diode or the like according to claim '1, in which the said connecting means associated with the two covers consist of junction elements of the rod or screw type, while the plates of insulating material, the insulating sheets and the covers are drilled through to allow the passage of the said junction elements, metallization being absent around the holes drilled in the plates and the insulating sheets.

3. Means of assembling a PIN diode or the like according to claim 1, in which the excised area in the plate to receive the diode is made up of a cover which is slightly larger than the diode and in the interior of which there is placed, in a removable manner, a conjugate unit which is itself provided with an inner excised area which fits around the diode.

4. Means of assembling a PIN diode or the like according to claim 2, in which means there is a spring device inserted under at least one of the covers so as to be capable of exerting a resilient squeezing action.

5. Means of assembling a PIN diode or the like according to claim 2, in which one of the covers is hollow in order to accommodate within its internal hollow space a spring in the shape of a leaf with the ends bent over, and the cover carries the requisite threads for the squeezing action of the junction elements. 

1. Means of assembling a PIN diode or other semiconductor or electronic component one electrode of which, receiving a biasing voltage, is to be connected to a reference potential by a capacitor, said means including: at least two plates made of insulating material and having an excision to accommodate the diode, a metallized circuit on at least one of the internal surfaces of the said plates, a layer of metal on each of the outer faces of the two plates, the said layers of metal being intended for connection to the reference potential, an insulating sheet applied on each of the metallized planes, this being of limited surface area and of a form adapted to enclose each of the diodes, metal covers covering the insulating sheets and the diode on either side of the combination of the two above-mentioned plates, made of insulating material, along with the metallized circuit, connection means to link the two covers electrically while exerting a clamping effect on the combination of plates and sheets, and to bring up the covers to the reference potential, the combination of the two capacities, each formed of an insulating sheet, being included between a layer of metal and a so-called cover which constituted the above-mentioned capacitor.
 2. Means of assembling a PIN diode or the like according to claim 1, in which the said connecting means associated with the two covers consist of junction elements of the rod or screw type, while the plates of insulating material, the insulating sheets and the covers are drilled through to allow the passage of the said junction elements, metallization being absent around the holes drilled in the plates and the insulating sheets.
 3. Means of assembling a PIN diode or the like according to claim 1, in which the excised area in the plate to receive the diode is made up of a cover which is slightly larger than the diode and in the interior of which there is placed, in a removable manner, a conjugate unit which is itself provided with an inner excised area which fits around the diode.
 4. Means of assembling a PIN diode or the like according to claim 2, in which means there is a spring device inserted under at least one of the covers so as to be capable of exerting a resilient squeezing action.
 5. Means of assembling a PIN diode or the like according to claim 2, in which one of the covers is hollow in order to accommodate within its internal hollow space a spring in the shape of a leaf with The ends bent over, and the cover carries the requisite threads for the squeezing action of the junction elements. 